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Without a doubt this is one of the most monumental and stunning architectural sites in Madrid due to its ideal location next to the Royal Palace and Royal Theatre. It is not to be missed. The first driving force behind the square was Joseph Bonaparte who proposed a large grassy area in front of the Palace. A few years later, in 1817, Fernando VII commissioned a new construction project but this could not go ahead. The final design was conceived when Isabel II came to the throne, by architect Narciso Pascual y Colomer.

The square was opened in 1844. In the same year the equestrian statue of Felipe IV was erected, the work of by the Italian Pedro Tacca in 1640, which stands at 12 metres tall and 17 in diameter. With its perfectly-designed gardens, the Plaza de Oriente has become a museum of sculptures due to the twenty figures of different Spanish monarchs that surround the area.